October 15, 2002 Pensioner gets five years for German cashpoint scam A German pensioner who failed to sell banks his encryption scheme for ATM machines has been convicted of counterfeiting credit and debit cards. The 71-old (nicknamed 'The Professor') was sentenced last Friday by Munich's State Court to four years and ten months in jail for creating 671 fake cards, which he used subsequently used to make illegal withdrawals, AP reports. Among his victims was a judge working on the case, who stepped down after discovering he had attempted to defraud her. http://online.securityfocus.com/news/1196 - - - - - - - - Schmidt says companies must improve security against cyber terrorism British companies must improve their security against the growing threat of computer terrorism, a senior U.S. adviser on computer crime said Monday. Howard Schmidt, vice chairman of the Critical Infrastructure Protection Board, set up in the United States after the Sept. 11 attacks, said groups such as al-Qaida could cost the economy billions of pounds (dollars) through cyber crime. The threat ranged from hackers vandalizing web sites through to serious crime, including identity theft, espionage and terrorism, he said. http://online.securityfocus.com/news/1177 - - - - - - - - Court weighs faxed search warrants The U.S. Justice Department has asked an appeals court to let police fax search warrants to Internet companies during investigations. Last Thursday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Bridgid Dowdal told a panel of Eighth Circuit judges that it should be acceptable for police to fax a search warrant to Yahoo--instead of showing up in person--during a recent child pornography investigation. http://news.com.com/2100-1023-962113.html - - - - - - - - Fear Factor STANLEY "STASH" JAROCKI doesn't act like the agreement he recently signed with the FBI's National Infrastructure Protection Center (NIPC) is a big deal. "It's a prenuptialnothing exotic," says Jarocki, chairman of the Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center (ISAC) and vice president of information security engineering at Morgan Stanley. http://www.idg.net/ic_956629_5055_1-2793.html - - - - - - - - Control key for future of technology Panelist says Hollywood is a threat to the future of consumer electronics. Congress would be "putting the dinosaurs in charge of evolution" if Hollywood succeeds in obtaining a federal law that would restrict consumer use of digital video and music, a civil liberties attorney told an Associated Press conference. http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/4290496.htm http://www.nandotimes.com/technology/story/577790p-4514084c.html http://www.nandotimes.com/technology/story/576904p-4507993c.html It's time to fix copyrights--permanently http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1107-961899.html http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techpolicy/2002-10-15-digital-copying_x.htm 'RIAA-written' Net radio bill served to Senate http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/27605.html - - - - - - - - Would you like fries with your porn? McDonald's pulls plug on in-store internet service to fix firewall. Red-faced McDonald's has pulled the plug on an in-store internet service because too many customers used it surf for porn. The Glasgow Evening Times was alerted after a father complained that customers were able to access sexually explicit images in the Kilmarnock branch of the fast-food chain, which is popular with youngsters and families. http://www.vnunet.com/News/1135988 http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/27604.html - - - - - - - - Information clampdown bugs scientists After Sept. 11, federal government removes public access to data, orders CD-ROMs destroyed. Some scientists are running into a major post- Sept. 11 stumbling block: Federal restrictions have eliminated access to information vital to their studies. http://www.msnbc.com/news/821291.asp - - - - - - - - Spam Masquerades as Admin Alerts A new breed of pop-up ads is appearing mysteriously on Microsoft Windows users' computers. The so-called "Messenger spams" have security experts and system administrators scratching their heads -- and recipients fuming. Some of the ads, which hit Windows systems through backdoor networking ports and not by e-mail or Web browsing, appear to have been generated by Direct Advertiser, a $700 software program developed by Florida-based DirectAdvertiser.com. http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,55795,00.html - - - - - - - - To protect and serve TOP-TIER SECURITY vendors are blending management and services with their product offerings in an effort to defuse security- related wild-goose chases and reduce customers' discovered security events to meaningful and digestible chunks. Companies such as Internet Security Systems (ISS), Symantec, and IBM Tivoli are zeroing in on beefed-up integration and services options, familiarity, and global- market reach to win over customers. http://www.idg.net/ic_956534_5055_1-2861.html - - - - - - - - Intel beefs up network security Intel plans to announce a new network processor on Tuesday that will handle security functions, a move it expects will reduce the cost and improve the performance of networking equipment. The company will also delay a similar product that does not offer security features. The IXP 2850, due in the second quarter of next year, will route information packets inside switches and telecommunications servers, but it will also perform intelligent functions such as encryption or decryption, said Matt Campbell, a product marketing manager in Intel's communications division. Currently, these security functions require a co-processor. http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105-962009.html http://news.com.com/2100-1033-962009.html http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/3/27623.html - - - - - - - - Tumbleweed Upgrades Messaging Security App Tumbleweed Communications Corp. on Monday said it will make available by year-end its latest Secure Guardian product for secure message delivery and content scanning. Secure Guardian 5.5 resides between e-mail servers and a firewall, and it can securely deliver a message through a variety of methods. http://www.internetwk.com/story/INW20021014S0002 - - - - - - - - Stupid Bugbear Tricks Despite the virus' success at slamming unwary netizens, there's evidence that its author is no rocket scientist. "Please, please, please" came the blandishments of the p.r. men. "If you want to talk to someone about Bugbear, pleeze give me a call!" twittered one. Dear sir, would you notice my client's rubbish for a computer virus story angle? But even when ignored, the work of the flacks remains astonishingly efficient. http://online.securityfocus.com/columnists/116 - - - - - - - - Debate over gun markings database Supporters say it could make guns used in crimes easier to trace. Some in Congress say a national database, called a "ballistic fingerprint system," would make it easier to trace the gun. But would it work? So far, some of the best evidence in the sniper case may be from the shooters rifle itself: a spent shell found on the ground at the scene of one of the shootings. Some in Congress say a national database, called a ballistic fingerprint system, would make it easier to trace the gun. But would it work? http://www.msnbc.com/news/821179.asp - - - - - - - - Traffic Cameras Could Help Solve Crimes It may seem impossible to pick out a serial killer roaming the highways of a sprawling metropolitan region, but the task is far from hopeless. The van or car of the suburban sniper who is operating here has surely been captured at least briefly by a government camera already in place, and the authorities might have quickly developed a short list of suspects if they were using the more advanced cameras that monitor traffic in other cities. http://www.nytimes.com/2002/10/15/national/15CAME.html - - - - - - - - Police can't pinpoint many 911 calls Technical obstacles impede wireless locator service Engine problems stranded two men on a boat in the Atlantic one recent afternoon. They could see land but had no idea where they were. So one called 911 on his cell phone. The men were lucky to be along the coast of Rhode Island, where emergency operators have more power than most of their counterparts in America to help people calling from wireless phones. http://www.cnn.com/2002/TECH/ptech/10/15/wireless.911.ap/index.html - - - - - - - - GPS: Keeping Cons Out of Jail An electronic tracking system that follows suspects and criminals around their neighborhoods and compares the information to current crimes has received, of all things, the stamp of approval from the American Civil Liberties Union. http://www.wired.com/news/privacy/0,1848,55740,00.html - - - - - - - - Satellite mapping fights corruption Digital maps of Bangladesh are proving invaluable in the fight against sleaze in a country branded as one of the most corrupt in the world. The maps are used together with a computerised national database to decide where new roads or schools should be built. The aim is to ensure that tough decisions about development priorities and spending are governed by local needs rather than the whim of politicians. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/2284862.stm *********************************************************** Search the NewsBits.net Archive at: http://www.newsbits.net/search.html *********************************************************** The source material may be copyrighted and all rights are retained by the original author/publisher. The information is provided to you for non-profit research and educational purposes. Reproduction of this text is encouraged; however copies may not be sold, and NewsBits (www.newsbits.net) should be cited as the source of the information. Copyright 2000-2002, NewsBits.net, Campbell, CA.